Transformers: Prime
Transformers: Prime is an American computer-animated television series based on the Transformers toy franchise by Hasbro. It premiered in the United States on The Hub, which is partly owned by Hasbro. The series' first two episodes was broadcast on Friday, November 26, 2010, at 4:00pm Eastern/3:00pm Central on The Hub television network, as a special preview. It was broadcast officially on Monday, November 29, 2010, at 6:30pm Eastern/5:30pm Central. On February 11, 2011, the series started to air new episodes, under the name of Transformers: Prime – The Animated Series. Other channels air the series internationally. The second season began airing on February 18, 2012. A third season has been announced to air in the spring of 2013,[1][2] and will most likely open with an arc of the Autobots facing a beast-like Decepticon.[3][4][5] The first season became available for instant streaming through Netflix on April 5, 2012. The second season became available on December 7, 2012. The series has been well-received and has won multiple Daytime Emmy Awards. Transformers: Prime is rated TV-Y7-FV, despite its darker, more violent tone. Many references to other Transformers continuities have appeared in the series, but have not been fully explained. edit Production edit Concept After the success of High Moon Studios' third-person shooter game Transformers: War for Cybertron, Hasbro placed the continuity of the series into that of War for Cybertron's.[citation needed] Hasbro created a 400-page Transformers production bible titled the "Binder of Revelation" for Prime.[6] Whereas the movies were about a boy and his car, the dynamic between the kids and the robots on the show was meant to be more like The Iron Giant.7 The first designs of the characters were first shown off at Botcon 2010 at its panel, and shown the second time at San Diego Comic Con 2010. edit Animation Digitalscape Company Limited, famous for their work on such titles as Soulcalibur III, Ninja Gaiden, and Dead or Alive Paradise, developed the CGI Animation of Transformers: Prime. Although Digitalscape ran a job fair looking for a talent to work on the production, Polygon Pictures ultimately won. Jose Lopez,[disambiguation needed character designer, described the animation of the series as "groundbreaking mix of 2D animation and CGI." A show on the level of Transformers: Prime would take about two years to produce, but the animators only had ten months, so five episodes were animated at a time (hence the monthly gaps during a season). edit Music Film composer Brian Tyler serves as the music composer for Transformers: Prime. Matthew Margeson is the music arranger for the series, first arranging the fifteen episodes of the series. The music features a large live orchestra, a rarity in contemporary television scores. The official soundtrack of Transformers: Prime was released on iTunes on March 6, 2012, and on CD on March 13, 2012. [edit Plot See also: Transformers: Exodus, Transformers: War for Cybertron, Transformers: Cybertron Adventures, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, and Transformers: ExilesSet in the timeline after the novels and video games preceding the television series, Prime began with a five-part mini-series titled "Darkness Rising", which served to introduce the main characters and provide a back story on the Transformers and their war. Mini-Series In Jasper, Nevada, three young humans, Jack Darby, Miko Nakadai, and Rafael Esquivel, are accidentally caught in the crossfire in a fight between enormous robots that transform into vehicles. They are taken to the base of the heroic Autobots, where their leader Optimus Prime explains that he and his team are from the planet Cybertron. As it turns out, the Autobots had a devastating war against the ruthless Megatron and his followers, the Decepticons long ago on Cybertron. While this is going on, Megatron returns from a three year long exile in deep space, bringing with him Dark Energon, a substance able to revive the dead and he sets out to raise an army of the undead and conquer Earth. In the conclusion to Darkness Rising, Megatron is seen in front of the Space Bridge waiting for his army of the undead to come through it; however, the Space Bridge explodes, and Megatron is seen no more. During this mini-series, Arcee's partner, Cliffjumper is killed in the first episode, setting the tone for the series. [edit Season 1 After Megatron's supposed death during the explosion that destroyed the Decepticons' Space Bridge, Starscream assumes his master's leadership. But Megatron is found barely alive in the wreckage of the Space Bridge. Megatron remained in stasis for a portion of the first season until he returned to power. New characters are introduced such as Bulkhead's best friend, Wheeljack, a former member of a group of Autobots called Wreckers, Silas, leader of a group of human villains known as MECH, and the Decepticons known as Skyquake, Makeshift, Knock Out, Breakdown, and Airachnid. At the end of the season, the Autobots form an uneasy alliance with Megatron when Earth is threatened by an ancient enemy from the past called Unicron the Chaos Bringer. With the power of the Matrix of Leadership, Earth is saved from Unicron's dark powers. But there comes a price. When Optimus surrenders the Matrix, he loses more than the collective wisdom of the Primes. He loses his own memory of his life as a Prime and reverts to his original identity of Orion Pax. [edit Season 2 Following the events of the finale of the first season, Optimus, as Orion, is converted into a Decepticon when Megatron takes advantage of his amnesia. Jack goes on a mission to help the Autobots restore Optimus' memory and they eventually succeed. With his memory restored, Optimus regains the power of the Matrix as well as his leadership of the Autobots. The main theme for the rest of the season is the discovery of ancient relics from Cybertron buried on Earth with the Transformers fighting over each new discovery which ultimately leads their battle all the way back to Cybertron. New characters introduced in the second season include a young Autobot named Smokescreen, Optimus' old mentor, the archivist known as Alpha Trion, Optimus' evil twin, Nemesis Prime, and the Decepticons known as Shockwave and Dreadwing as well as a swarm of Insecticons. [edit Season 3 At the New York Comic Con on October 11, 2012 Transformers: Prime: Beast Hunters was revealed, and is set to be released in Spring 2013. The season will begin with the Autobots recovering following the Decepticons' attack on their base.It will also feature the Autobots having to face a new beast-like Decepticon called Predaking and the return of Shockwave. A recent trailer reveals that Shockwave will create the Predacons, but will lose control over them, and the Predacons will come to Earth to hunt the Autobots one by one.[2] [edit Characters Main article: List of Transformers: Prime characters''Transformers: Prime'' revolves around the adventures of following Autobots stationed on an abandoned military base in the Nevada desert: *Optimus Prime, the male Autobot leader who transforms into a red and blue, long-nose truck cab (voiced by Peter Cullen in English version and Toshiyuki Morikawa in Japanese version). *Ratct, a male Autobot medic who transforms into a white and red ambulance (voiced by Jeffrey Combs in English version and Nobuo Tobita in Japanese version). *Arcee, a courageous female Autobot who transforms into a blue motorcycle (voiced by Sumalee Montano in English version and Shizuka Itō in Japanese version). *Bumblebee, a young male Autobot scout who transforms into a yellow and black sports car and is unable to speak properly but communicates through a series of electronic sound effects. *Bulkhead, a male Autobot warrior who transforms into a large, green SUV (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson in English version and Takashi Nagasako in Japanese version). *Smokescreen, a young,impulsive,and inexperienced male Autobot who transforms into a silver, blue and red sports car, joining the cast in the second season (voiced by Nolan North in English version and Kazuyuki Okitsu in Japanese version). Few humans acknowledge existence of Transformers. Among the protagonists, these include: *Jack Darby, a 16-year-old male high school student, guarded by Arcee (voiced by Josh Keaton in English version and Jun Fukuyama in Japanese version). *Miko Nakadai, a loud and reckless 15-year-old Japanese female exchange student, guarded by Bulkhead (voiced by Tania Gunadi in English version and Nozomi Furuki in Japanese version). *Raf Esquivel, a highly intelligent yet shy 12-year-old boy who has an extensive knowledge of computers and machinery, guarded by Bumblebee and understands his speech impediment (voiced by Andy Pessoa in English version and Motoko Kumai in Japanese version). *William Fowler, a male, government special agent who serves as a liaison between the Autobots and the United States government (voiced by Ernie Hudson in English version and Kenji Nomura in Japanese version). The major antagonists appearing throughout the series are the Decepticons, who are present on Earth to plunder deposits of Energon, and they regularly come into conflict with Optimus Prime and the Autobots. They are primarily stationed in a space warship called the Nemesis. The more important Decepticons appearing in the series are: *Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons who transforms into a Cybertronian jet (voiced by Frank Welker in the English version and Keiji Fujiwara in the Japanese version). *Starscream, Megatron's treacherous second-in-command, Starscream leaves the Decepticons towards the end of the first season. Starscream later rejoins them towards the end of the second season, where he stole the Omega Keys and made a bargain with Megatron. His Earth vehicle mode is a jet (voiced by Steve Blumin the English version and Satoshi Tsuruoka in the Japanese version). *Soundwave the Decepticon infiltrator and communicator who turns into a drone-type jet. He has a scout drone named "Laserbeak" who turns into his chest armor. He is the only Decepticon to not have a voice actor, and while he can speak, he simply chooses not to. *Knock Out, the Decepticons' narcissistic medic who transforms into a Aston Martin DBS (voiced by DaranNorris in the English version and Yasunori Masutaiin the Japanese version). *Breakdown, Bulkhead's arch enemy, Breakdown is Knock Out's brutish parnter who turns into an armored van; killed off in the second season (voiced by Adam Baldwin in the English version and Atsushi Imaruoka in the Japanese version). *Airachnid, Arcee's arch enemy, Airachnid is a sadistic Cybertronian who had once been a member of the Decepticons. She appeared in the 2 seasons of the series and acquired an Earth based vehicle mode of a helicopter. She also possesses an ability to control insect-like Transformers known as Insecticons. Cruel and diabolical, this rogue Decepticon tortures her victims, whether human or Autobot alike. (voiced by Gina Torres in the English version and Ryōka Yuzuki in the Japanese version). *Dreadwing, the former captain of a Seeker armada, Dreadwing becomes Megatron's first lieutenant of the Decepticons after Airachnid goes rogue; introduced early on in the second season and is killed off in the second-to-last episode of said season (voiced by Tony Todd in the English version and Masami Iwasaki in the Japanese version) Section heading Write the first section of your page here. Section heading Write the second section of your page here. Category:Robots Category:Super heroes